Tanoesoedibjo was born in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, on 26 September 1965, the son of a local businessman. He is the youngest of three siblings. After finishing high school, he studied at Carleton University with his siblings and cousins in Canada. In 1988, he gained a bachelor’s degree in Commerce, then an MBA completed in 1989 at the University of Ottawa. Tanoesoedibjo married Liliana Tanaja Tanoesoedibjo and they have five children.

Tanoesoedibjo founded PT. MNC Investama in Surabaya on 2 November 1989 and moved its headquarters to Jakarta in 1990. The company was initially named PT Bhakti Investments (later changed to PT Bhakti Investama Tbk) and focused primarily on capital-market activities. The Indonesian government, which was in the 1980s and early 1990s still pursuing a deregulation policy, provided a number of facilities to boost Indonesia’s capital market.

The company relocated to Jakarta in February 1990. In 1994, it expanded to include securities trading and brokerage, investment management, underwriting, origination and syndication, financial advisory and research services, as well as mergers and acquisitions, followed by the launch of mutual fund products. The company listed its stock on the Jakarta Stock Exchange and the Surabaya Stock Exchange in a 1997 IPO.

In 2011, Tanoesoedibjo launched JKT48, an all-girl idol singing group, with Yasushi Akimoto in MNC Tower Headquarters.

In August 2011, Tanoesoedibjo joined the Nasdem Party (Partai Nasional Demokrat), an Indonesian political party founded by Surya Paloh. By late 2012, there were rumors of a leadership struggle between Tanoesoedibjo and Paolh. On 17 February 2013, Tanoesoedibjo quit the Nasdem Party due to his disappointment over Paloh’s changes to the party’s strategy. In mid-2013, Tanoesoedibjo joined the People’s Conscience Party (Hati Nurani Rakyat, Hanura) led by former military commander Wiranto. Tanoesoedibjo said Hanura had a better vision and mission for Indonesia, whereas Nasdem had lost its idealism. On 2 July 2013, the Hanura Party named Wiranto and Tanoesoedibjo as its candidates for the presidency and vice presidency for Indonesia’s 2014 presidential election. Hanura won only 2.86% of votes in Indonesia’s 2014 general election, below the required threshold to field a presidential candidate. Hanura joined a coalition of parties backing Joko Widodo, who won the election. The decision to support Widodo prompted Tanoesoedibjo to quit from the party in May 2014, as he supported former general Prabowo Subianto for the presidency.

PT Bhakti Investama Tbk restructured through several mergers and acquisitions. It diversified the products and services offered into media, energy, natural resources and infrastructure. The company changed its name to PT MNC Investama Tbk at a general meeting of shareholders on 2 May 2013 and the change was approved by the Ministry of Law and Human Rights on 23 August 2013. The stock code remained unchanged as BHIT.

In 2015, Tanoesoedibjo formed his own party called Partai Perindo (Indonesian Unity Party). As a business partner of US President Donald Trump, Tanoesoedibjo said he felt inspired by him and may try to run for president of Indonesia.

He was listed by Forbes as the 29th richest Indonesian in 2016, with wealth of $1.15 billion.

In June 2017, Tanoesoedibjo was barred from leaving the country between 22 June and 12 July after allegedly sending a series of threatening text messages to Yulianto, a deputy attorney general for special crimes, who is investigating a tax restitution to telecommunications firm Mobile-8 in 2009. Tanoesoedibjo was the commissioner of the company at the time.